Actions Speak Louder
by Melissa Black13
Summary: These Memories in My Head: Wally's feels like he's going crazy with Artemis undercover. Spoilers through Fix. Rated T.
1. Louder Than Words

**A/N:** This is now a series of Wally/Artemis one-shots. They're all from the same universe, my Wally/Artemis headcanon universe, and will be unless otherwise specified. This can be seen as a companion story to Evolution of Soulmates.

For Gwen (or Satellies on Parade/Brella) :). Happy birthday my dear!

**rated:** M  
**words:** 2,229  
**pairings:** wally/artemis, post-depths  
**summary:** They've never needed words to convey to each other how they felt.  
**a/n:** This could somewhat be considered a companion piece to my story Bittersweet Surrender, but you don't have to read that to read this. All you need to know is that this is my version of Wally and Artemis' reunion post-undercover biz.

**Louder Than Words**

"Home, sweet home," Wally says, wearily pushing open the front door of their apartment.

Artemis takes in the sight eagerly through her exhaustion, wondering if anything's changed in her 2 month absence. Everything looks the same, albeit, a little messier than she had left it. That was to be expected though; even if Wally was one of the fastest men alive, he never did like cleaning up after himself.

A soft growl to her left catches her attention, and she looks down to see that Nelson has padded over to them.

"Hey, boy," she says, leaning over to pet him. "Did you miss me?"

He looks up at her with big confused eyes, his black nose sniffing wildly. A whine escapes him and he shuffles backwards, away from her. She instinctively looks to Wally.

"He doesn't remember me," she says, but her voice cracks towards the end, making it seem like a question.

Wally shakes his head, resting a hand on her shoulder. It burns and she idly remembers the jolt of pain she felt when she had dislocated it earlier that night, along with the subsequent memory of Nightwing popping it back into place. But she doesn't flinch or tell Wally to remove his hand. His tough is comforting and she's missed it so much that she could almost burst.

"He's just confused, I think," he says. His fingers brush the back of her neck making her shiver. "You still have your charm on."

Her hand flies up to her neck and sure enough, the charm is there. When she'd first begun her undercover mission, it had felt like a noose, but now, even after her cover had been blown and her friends knew she was alive, she had felt naked without it and must have put it back on.

"Force of habit, I guess," she murmurs, reaching behind her to unclasp the necklace. The minute she does, Nelson scampers back over to her and tries to climb up her leg in his attempts to lick her face. She laughs, the sound completely foreign to her after these last couple months, and kneels to scratch him behind the ears. His tongue lolls out of his mouth happily, and he gives her a big, wet lick before heading back to his preferred sleeping place on the couch.

Artemis looks up to smile at Wally and something inside of her threatens to break free at the look in his eyes. It's one part relief, one part happiness, and then one part pure lust, and it reminds her of so many lonely nights when all she wanted was Wally's touch: his lips on her skin; his hands in her hair; his chest brushing up against hers. He reaches down to take her hands and pulls her back into a standing position. He doesn't let go even once she's upright next to him.

Their eyes are locked, green on grey, and she's afraid to even blink because what if this is all just a dream and she wakes up on her bunk in Black Manta's sub, reaching out for his warm body only to be met with air. But no, this is real, she thinks as his finger comes up to trace a line across her jaw. Their foreheads come to rest together and she finally allows herself to close her eyes, just savoring the sound of his breathing and his musky scent.

It's almost comical thinking about someone peeking in through their window and seeing both of them clad in their costumes, ripped and dirty from the battle earlier that evening, just standing there holding each other. When she thinks about what they've both been through though, it doesn't seem so funny. But it's over, for now at least. She can come back to the world and live again. It feels like surfacing after holding your breath underwater for too long. It had been her choice to take on this mission, and it had been the hardest thing she'd ever had to do in her life. She knows that she would make the same choice if she had to do it a second time around, but she can't deny that she's beyond relieved that the ruse is finally over.

She opens her eyes to find Wally still staring at her and she can feel her face flushing. His expression says everything that doesn't need to be spoken out loud between them; even when they were younger they'd never needed words to convey to each other how they felt. It had always been about gestures and body language. Right now his stare means, _I missed you_, and his hand caressing her cheek is an, _I love you_. He straightens up and pulls her against his body and she knows the mean of this, too: _I want you. I need you._And even though she's tired and dirty and hungry, desire races through her veins. She needs him, too.

"You need a shower," she observes, her voice a little hoarse.

"So do you, Miss Thing," he replies quietly, smoothing his thumb across what she guesses is a smudge of dirt on her cheek.

He hasn't called her that in a long time so it makes her smile and think of better days, more reckless days when they were in their teens and convinced that they could take on the world. But they're still young, she thinks. She hasn't even turned 21 yet. They can still be reckless.

"Come on," she says, pulling him backwards with her before turning and following the familiar path to their bathroom, her hand grasping tight on to his.

Once they're in the bathroom, she shuts the door behind them to make sure Nelson doesn't intrude, before turning to Wally. It's like an electric current goes through her when their eyes meet again. The sexual tension is so thick in the air it could be cut with a knife. They haven't even kissed yet besides a hurried lip lock after her cover had been blown. It's not like they've forgotten how, though; she just knows that once they start they'll never want to stop.

He sees her intentions and busies himself with turning on the shower and getting it to the right temperature. When he turns back around she has divested herself of her Tigress costume (and isn't sure whether she wants to frame or burn the damn thing) and her underthings. She doesn't cover herself, though she has a few new scars; he's seen every part of her and she has no reason to feel insecure. His admiring gaze makes her feel like the most beautiful girl in the world. His yellow and red digs land in a heap on the tile floor next to hers and he fingers dance down her spinal cord as she enters the shower ahead of him. The glass door shuts behind them and they both groan out loud as the hot water hits their aching muscles. She turns to face Wally, marveling at the drops of water that stream down his sculpted chest. Her college friends always said she was so lucky to have a boyfriend who was a former "track star" and she is inclined to agree with them.

She reaches into the shower caddy and grabs the bar of soap there as Wally grabs her shampoo bottle that has apparently sat untouched for two months. She presses the soap bar to his chest and began rubbing soothing circles across his chest, arms, and his broad shoulders, languishing in places where there were smears of dirt or where she just wants to touch him a little longer.

So busy is she on cleaning him up that she doesn't notice his hands venture behind her head until she feels his fingers lathering shampoo into her hair. She moans at the sensation and her eyes fall shut as his fingertips massage her scalp. Once he's finished, she hands off the bar of soap to him and tips her head back into the stream of water, running her hands through her blonde locks in an effort to remove the shampoo.

Wally carefully rubs the bar of soap over her body; arms, shoulders, back, and she can't help but notice his obvious skipping over of her breasts; two parts of her anatomy that she's pretty sure are his favorites. It's like he doesn't want to disturb the current non-sexual atmosphere of their shower. When the last of the suds are out of her hair, she lowers her hands, one of them finding Wally's wrist and guiding it to her chest. He looks almost nervous, which reminds her again of their younger days when he had been big on talk but had blushed at red as his hair the first time she'd taken her top off.

But his hand is slow and steady as it guides the bar of soap along the supple skin of her chest. She makes the mistake of looking up at him, only to find him gazing right back at her, his eyes burning like hot coals with desire and lust. It's a look that sets her lower body aflame with pure want and she finds that she can't look away, not even when the sound of the soap falling to the shower floor rings out through the bathroom.

Almost instantly, Wally has his arms encircled around her waist and his lips slant over hers. She melts against him, standing on her tiptoes to wrap one hand across the back of his neck, using the other to plunge through his hair. Their naked, wet bodies slide against each other and Artemis feels a shiver run through Wally's entire body even as he devours her mouth. His kiss is eager and passionate but with an edge of desperation, as if he too thought this might be a dream. She matches every movement he makes, just as she's always been able to and even starts to curl her leg around his calf, seeking some leverage.

He immediately sees her intentions and hoists her up in one fluid motion without breaking their kiss. He presses her against the shower tiles and her legs automatically wind their way around his hips, igniting delicious sensations between their lower bodies, which make both of them groan in pleasure.

Wally pries his mouth away from hers suddenly, gasping, causing Artemis to open her eyes. He's looking down at her with the most forlorn expression now and she' reminded of all the lonely nights they've had to spend apart. These last two months are the longest they've had to spend without each other since they were fifteen years old and Artemis knows that however bad it was for her, it had to have been twice as worse for him. He'd had to pretend like she was dead, and yet come home every night to their empty apartment, sleep in their empty bed, knowing all along that she was somewhere out there. She's not sure she would have been able to do the same without going crazy if the tables had been turned. She reaches over to shut off the showerhead, waiting for him to catch his breath.

He nuzzles his face into the crook of her neck, pressing open-mouthed kisses to the skin there. "Don't ever leave me again," he mumbles, and she knows he's only half-joking. "I can't function without you."

"That's not healthy," she replies breathily in his ear.

"You think I don't know that?" he laughs humorlessly. His kisses down her neck and hoists her even higher so that he can graze his lips over the peaks of her breasts. "You drive me crazy, babe."

"Are you complaining?" she asks, her breath hitching at his ministrations. She's practically shaking with wanting him so bad, but she knows him, know them; banter has always been a part of their foreplay.

"Not at all," he replies. "I just want to make sure you know what you do to me."

"I have some idea," she whispers coyly. Artemis presses her lower body against his and can't help her smirk of satisfaction when he moans her name.

A second later she's wrapped in a towel and thrown onto their bed with him standing over her, running a quick towel over his lean body. He throws it away and climbs over her, discarding her towel as well. Wally's back to being tender, cautious again, enfolding her in his arms and planting soft kisses on her cheeks, her forehead, her eyelids. She revels in his attentions, spreading her fingers along his shoulder blades.

"God, I missed you," he blurts out raggedly, halting his caresses and holding his face above hers.

"Not as much as I missed you," she tells him truthfully, cupping his face in her hands.

He swallows harshly and she can't exactly tell, but she thinks there might be tears in his eyes. She won't call him on it though. Not tonight.

"I love you," he says softly.

"Show me," is all she says in response. She doesn't need to respond in kind because he knows. And after all, with them, actions always speak louder than words.

So, he shows her; multiple times until they both finally succumb to their exhaustion. And she's never known a better feeling than when she wakes up the next morning still wrapped in his arms.

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**a/n:** Please review!


	2. Caught in the Act

**title:** caught in the act  
**characters:** wally west, artemis crock, kaldur'ahm  
**rated:** M  
**summary:** Wally laughed against her skin, the vibrations making her shiver. "I think the thrill of possibly getting caught turns you on."

**Caught in the Act**

She wasn't exactly sure how she and Wally ended up in the locker room, both half naked; she'd lost her shirt and bra at some point, and he'd lost his pants. Ever since they'd had sex together for the first time, the two young heroes couldn't keep their hands off of each other. They never seemed to end up making it to either one of their rooms; instead, christening such places around the Cave as the training room, the library, even the Bioship. It was now apparently the locker room's turn.

Artemis let out a breathy moan as Wally sucked on the junction between her neck and her chest. "This is so wrong," she murmured, dragging her hands through his hair. "What if someone walks in?"

"You say that everytime," Wally laughed against her skin, the vibrations making her shiver. "I think the thrill of possibly getting caught turns you on."

She considered this, which was difficult as her mind was clouded with lust. "Maybe," she finally panted out. "Now, take my pants off."

"I love it when you get demanding," Wally groaned, his deft fingers making short work of her jeans. She helped him pull them off along with her underwear before wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself up so that her legs encircled his hips.

He cradled her to him, searching for the perfect place to press her up against. Artemis saw his dilemma even as she was occupied with trailing kisses down his neck.

"The showers," she said against his skin, reaching with one hand to drag his boxers down.

He kicked them off as he walked them to the shower room, picking the first available piece of wall space to pin her to. The cool tile felt wonderful against her feverish body and he wasted no time, simply checking to see if she was ready before thrusting into her. She let out a strangled gasp that quickly turned into moans of pleasure as he continued to push in and out of her.

"You feel so good, babe," he grunted, one hand grasping her thigh and the other snaking it's way up to caress her breast.

"Mm hmm," she replied, too distracted by the sensations he was creating to say anything else.

She wasn't so distracted, however, that she didn't hear the distant sound of the door to the locker room opening. She froze, making Wally groan at her suddenly rigid body.

"Babe," he whined, still pushing into her.

"Wally, shut up," she hissed, covering his mouth with her hand. He looked affronted, but stopped his thrusts.

"This is the Team's locker room," they heard Kaldur say, to their extreme mortification. His voice didn't sound close enough to cause them too much panic, but needless to say, his presence was not welcome. "We don't use it very often, as we all have our own quarters."

Wally and Artemis exchanged worried glances. "They're not going to come in here," Wally reassured her quietly. He moved ever so slighting, pulling out of her before pushing back in. She tried to give him a warning glare, but her head fell back against the tile in rapture.

"What's back there, Kaldur?" a female voice asked, causing them both to freeze again.

"The communal showers," Kaldur answered. "Would you like to see them, Tula? Garth?"

"No, that's all right," another male voice said.

Artemis and Wally breathed a sigh of relief which soon turned into a sigh of pleasure for Artemis when Wally thrust deeply inside of her. Unfortunately, her sigh was louder than she'd though, echoing around the shower room and into the locker room.

"What was that?" they heard Tula ask.

They both held their breaths, hoping they would ignore the sound, but luck did not appear to be on their side that day.

"Hello?" Kaldur called. "Is someone there?"

"It's just me, Kaldur!" Wally yelled back, his voice strained with unreleased tension. Artemis closed her eyes in humiliation.

"Wally? Are you all right, my friend?" their team leader asked. They could hear his footsteps bringing him closer to the showers.

"Yes! I'm just fine," Wally replied. His hands had a vice-like grip on her hips and he was nearly shaking with the concentrated effort not to keep thrusting into her. Artemis thought it was rather miraculous that he was still hard, but decided now wasn't the time to ponder it.

"Are you sure, you sound—"

Artemis' eyes flew open. "Kaldur, if you take one more step, I promise, you really will be sleeping with the fishes," Artemis warned him.

There was a long pause throughout.

"Ah, Artemis, I see," Kaldur stuttered, and Artemis could just picture how red his face was getting. Probably ten times as red as it had been when Raquel had kissed him on the cheek New Year's Eve. "We really must discuss proper use of the facilities—"

"_Kaldur_!" both Wally and Artemis chorused.

"Of course, of course, we were just leaving," he said hastily, and they heard his, Tula's, and Garth's footsteps recede. At the sound of the door shutting, they both let out deep breaths.

Artemis looked at Wally, expecting him to continue. Instead, she found him struggling to keep a straight face. She wanted to glare at him, but found she could barely control her own laughter. The situation was just too ridiculous. Giving up on all attempts to contain themselves, they slid down to the floor and dissolved into hysterics.

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**a/n:** yeah, that was my attempt at real smut. Fun times. ;)


	3. Umbrella

**a/n: **If anyone's wondering why these look familiar, the last few stories have been reposted from before. New content will be coming out after the next chapter. Thanks for your patience and please keep reviewing! :)

For sar-cat's (or Blooming Cosmo's) birthday :)

**title:** umbrella  
**rating:** K+  
**words:** 1100+  
**pairing:** wally/artemis  
**summary:** When Artemis is having a rough day, Wally demonstrates why he is the best boyfriend ever. Fluff. College years.

**Umbrella**

"Great, just great," Artemis muttered, staring out across campus from her shelter underneath the Psych building's entrance.

What had started as a beautiful, sunny morning in Palo Alto, had given way to a sudden spring thunderstorm complete with a torrential downpour. Around her, her more prepared Stanford classmates and professors hurried to open their umbrellas and tug on their rain jackets, while she started mournfully into the rain. She hadn't even looked at the weather when she'd rushed out the front door today, so she had neither an umbrella nor a rain jacket. Needless to say, Artemis was dreading the long and wet walk she would have to endure to get back to her and Wally's apartment. Why had they thought moving off campus would be a good idea again?

To say that the day had been off to a rough start was putting it lightly. Wally and Artemis hadn't gotten back home until late last night because of a mission, a botched one at that thanks to their sketchy Intel, and then they'd both had homework and studying that needed doing. Wally had been the first to turn in, giving her a kiss on the forehead before collapsing on their bed, while she had stayed up until 4 AM writing an English paper that was due the next day. In the course of the morning she had: slept through her alarm, missing a pop quiz in her Philosophy class; been berated by her English professor for forgetting her paper at home; and had then been forced to work in a group with two of her least favorite classmates in her Psychology class.

And now she had to walk home in the pouring rain when all she really wanted was to curl up in bed, preferably with a certain speedster boyfriend who was no doubt fast asleep there now after back to back Biology and Chemistry exams.

She let a groan escape her. _The sooner I start walking, the sooner I can snuggle up under the covers_, Artemis thought to herself. She was about to brace herself to head into the storm when a freak gust of wind passed by her, momentarily disorientating her.

"Fancy meeting you here, babe," a familiar voice quipped to her left. She jerked her head around in surprise to see Wally leaning up against the railing next to her, perfectly nonchalant, one hand inspecting his nails and everything.

Artemis whipped her head from side to side, making sure that no one else had noticed the 6 foot tall ginger appear seemingly out of mid air before she hurried over to him.

"Wally," she hissed, hitting him on the arm ("Hey!"). "Someone could have seen you!"

Wally waved her concern away, tugging her against his miraculously dry side. "Everyone's too worried about falling into a puddle to notice me speeding by," he reasoned.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked curiously. "I thought you'd be sound asleep after your exams were over."

"Well, I was," he told her, "But then the rain woke me up—"

"You mean, your stomach woke you up," she corrected, a smirk on her face. His eating habits had become almost endearing over the years.

"Right," he chuckled. "Anyway, I saw that you'd forgotten your umbrella so I thought I'd come walk you home," he said simply, revealing his left hand which held her purple umbrella.

She didn't know whether it was the stress of the day, the lack of sleep, or the fact that she was PMSing, but at this sweet gesture, Artemis' eyes starting to fill with tears. She tried to blink them back, tried to say anything, but inevitably the tears started to fall, and suddenly she was gasping for breath as she tried not to cry outright. Wally looked horrified.

"Are you _crying_?" he asked frantically, dropping the umbrella and resting both of his hands on her shoulder. "What's wrong? What did I do?"

"Nothing, you idiot," she sniffled, throwing her arms around him and burrowing her face into his neck. "You're just really sweet sometimes, you know that?"

"Is it that time of the month again?" he asked, sounding slightly scared.

"Maybe," she muttered, breathing in the combined scent of Wally's cologne and the fabric softener of his shirt. It had a calming affect on her, but she had no desire to pull back from him just yet.

It was a testament to how well in tuned with each other they were after 4 years of dating that he knew what the problem really was. "I know last night was rough, but only a few more missions and we're off the Team for good," he murmured. His reassuring voice washed over her and she found she was finally able to swallow the lump in her throat that'd be there all day.

She nodded against his chest and felt his lips press a kiss to her forehead. It hadn't been an easy decision, leaving the Team, but it was one that she had Wally had made _together_. Tula's death and Kaldur's subsequent resignation from the Team had swayed them past the point of persuasion. Being a hero, no matter how rewarding it was or however much it had become a part of their lives, was no longer something they looked forward to doing. There were too many secrets, lies, and risks that they weren't willing to deal with anymore. At least for the time being. Both Wally and Artemis had agreed that they wouldn't tell a soul about Kaldur being undercover and that they would always help out when absolutely necessary, but they were done. Their friends and the League hadn't understood, but they had respected their decision.

The closer and closer she and Wally got to their last mission, the more stressed out she seemed to become, especially with trying to divide her time between school, Mount Jusice, and her archery team. It was all just too much and she felt like she was going to crack under the pressure. Maybe today was her breaking point. The only thing holding her together was Wally who had somehow become the most important person in her life. He always knew when she needed a reassuring word or a corny joke. He'd also come to understand when she needed silence or to be left alone. He was, with a doubt, her rock.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand in his and opening her umbrella. "When we get home we can lay down in bed and watch some TV. Just veg out."

"Can we watch Celebrity Hockey?" she asked. He hated that show, but it'd been one of her favorites since Robin, Nightwing now, had introduced her to it when they were younger.

"If you insist," Wally sighed, grimacing comically.

"You're the best boyfriend ever," Artemis told her, kissing him on the cheek. And instead of the miserable walk home she had been anticipating, she got to snuggle up under her umbrella with the guy she loved, watching as the rain fell all around them.

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**a/n:** Please review! :)


	4. Change

**a/n: **Just a little something I came up with at 3 in the morning...

**title:** change  
**rating:** T  
**words:** 1000+  
**pairing:** wally/artemis  
**summary:** Wally asks Artemis if she thinks he's changed. Set during the missing 5 years.

**Change**

She's idly running her fingers across his chest, feeling his heartbeat start to slow down in the wake of their spontaneous lovemaking. She loves this, she decides right then; she loves living together with Wally, although she was originally wary of the idea. After all, moving in together was a big step, and they were both only 20 years old, but she has no doubts now. She loves coming home after class and finding him sprawled across their couch, nose stuck in some biology textbook. She loves learning new food recipes together, figuring out each other's little likes and dislikes. She especially loves crawling into bed with him every night knowing that he would be there when she woke up. Artemis has never had anything stable in her life until Wally had come along, and each day she's reminded of how lucky she is to have him.

She props herself on her elbow to look down at him. Her lips, swollen from his heated kiss, curve into a smile at the sight of his mess red hair, mussed from her eager hands. She'll never get enough of him.

One green eye pops open, looking at her blearily before the other follows. He curls his arm tighter around her, fingertips grazing the small of her back.

"What're you smiling at?" he asks, his own mouth twitching upwards.

"Nothing," she sing-songs, dragging her fingers upwards to trace around his lips.

"Mhmm," he hums, eyes falling shut again, allowing Artemis to peruse his features unabashedly.

She'd fallen for Wally years ago when he'd been a lanky, albeit muscular, teenage boy and now, he was all man. Broad shoulders and a strong chest gave way to narrow hips and powerful thighs. All the baby fat on his face had melted away, leaving his features chiseled and ruggedly handsome in her eyes. There's only one thing, or a few things depending on how you looked at it, that she misses from his youth.

"I miss your freckles," she says suddenly, pressing her finger to the places where they used to dot his face. Neither of them are really sure when they'd disappeared, only that it was sometime between senior year of high school and the beginning of their freshman year.

An amused noise escapes him and he opens his eyes again. "Oh yeah?" he asked. "Well, what if I said I missed your long hair?"

"My hair's still pretty long," she argues.

"You know what I mean," he says, twining her blonde locks around his fingers.

"Well then, I would say it was time for a change," she tells him, thinking back to when she'd cut off almost a foot of her hair befor starting at Stanford. She'd donated it to Locks of Love though, so really no one could criticize her.

"Change," he muses, sounding serious. He's silent for a long moment, and she waits, knowing that something's taken root in his mind. "Do you think I've changed?"

He says it quietly, hesitantly, as if he's not really sure he wants to know the answer. She knows he's not talking about physical changes either.

"What brought this on?" she asks before she answers, hoping the context will give her a better idea of where he's coming from.

"Just something Nightwing said the last time I saw him," Wally tells her, eyes on the ceiling, avoiding her gaze. "He said, 'Who are you, and what have you done with Wally West?' like, you know, a joke, but the way he said it made it sound like he was being serious."

Artemis silently mulls over this, threading her fingers through his hair absentmindedly. "Yes and no," she finally says, and when he looks at her questioningly she hurries to explain. "I think you have changed in some ways, and than in others not at all."

"Ever since you were a young kid, you've had this responsibility thrust on you; we both have," she explains. "It's matured you, without a doubt, but I also think it's disenfranchised you a bit. All the secrets and lies, especially this year," she adds, thinking of the big secret they were both keeping for Nightwing and Kaldur.

"But Wally," she says, and here she makes sure this his brilliant green eyes are locked on to hers. She wants him to hear what she's saying and believe it. "You're still the Wally West I fell in love with four years ago. You're still that loud mouth, wise-cracking, science above everything, loyal, intelligent guy," she tells him, meaning every word fiercely. "Change isn't always a bad thing, and in this case I think change is good."

His pulls her tighter against him than before and she obligingly rests her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around him. "I love you," he says, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"I know," she quips, and they both chuckle at the reference. "I love you, too," she says, reaching up to kiss the corner of his mouth.

He turns his head to capture her lips with his own, resulting in a slow, sensual mesh of lips and tongue that builds into something more heated. She ends up on top of him, straddling his lower torso.

"You up for round two," she asks coyly, pressing her body against his.

"You bet," he replies, and he's looking at her in that way that he does, like he thinks she hangs the moon and stars. It's the way he looked at her when he'd first kissed her on New Year's Eve; the way he'd looked at her when she'd come out in her dress for her senior prom, and the way he looks at her when they were doing nothing at all except watching TV. He gaze makes her feel special and loved, and she hopes that he never stops looking at her the way he is now.

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**a/n:** Please review! :)


	5. Wally's Big Mouth: Part One

**Wally's Big Mouth**

**rated:** K+  
**words:** 2,000  
**pairings:** wally west/artemis crock  
**summary:** Wally and Artemis' relationship is still new. When Wally's makes a careless remark about Artemis' uniform, what lengths will he go to in order to get her to forgive him?

**a/n:** Chalk this up to my own curiosity and my own headcanon about Artemis' uniform…This is a two-parter, so the next part should be a long in a few days. Enjoy! Please review!

**Wally's Big Mouth: Part One**

In hindsight, he really should _not_ have mentioned it; at least, not after only two months of officially dating. Actually, scratch that, he just never should have mentioned it; _ever_. In his defense, though, he'd been provoked! They'd been on a mission, and Icicle Jr., of all people, just couldn't keep his eyes to himself. He was shooting ice at Wally and his teammates half-heartedly as he openly gawked at the stretch of olive skin between the top and bottom of Artemis' hero costume. Wally was the _only_ person allowed to look there. As her boyfriend, it was his right, his _privilege!_ And yes, Wally knew that Artemis and Jr. had been _acquaintances_when they were younger, but that didn't give the guy permission to check out his girl.

So, all of those thoughts were running through his head when they were all on the Bioship heading back to the Cave later that evening, Jr. and his cohorts safely locked back up. Wally may have used his super speed to deliver a harsher than usual string of punches to the young criminal, but really it was in the name of _justice_not, as Robin would have undoubtedly called it, jealously. There was no need to be jealous. He'd gotten the girl hadn't he? Sure it'd taken a while due to his own stupidity and insecurity, but two months later and they were still going strong.

Which is why Wally shouldn't have mentioned it.

"You ever think of, you know, switching up your uniform?" he asked Artemis, swiveling his chair around to face her. Over her shoulder, Wally saw Robin facepalm and frowned momentarily in his direction.

Artemis furrowed her brow in confusion. "Uh, no," she said, looking down at her attire. "Why? What's wrong with it?"

Hmm, how do I put this delicately? he wondered. He tried the concerned boyfriend route. "Nothing!" he hurried to assure her. "It's just, well, don't you get cold sometimes? I mean, it's the middle of winter."

Artemis shrugged, shaking her head. "Not really," she told him. "My suit is insulated pretty well."

Wally scratched his head. She wasn't really getting it. In the seat behind her, Robin was shaking his head urgently. What the hell was his problem? Wally knew he would have to be more blunt here if he wanted to get his point across.

"Yeah, but don't you think it's a tad bit…revealing?" he asked, trying to smile charmingly at her.

"Oh, he _seriously_did not just say that," he heard Raquel mutter across the room, and turned to glance in her direction. She was looking at him incredulously, while Zatanna, seated next to her, covered her mouth in what appeared to be equal parts horror and amusement. Her gaze swivelled from him to Artemis, and she blanched.

Immediately, he swung his gaze back to Artemis, and cringed from the heat of her glare. He had grown so used to the warmth in her eyes when directed at him these past couple months that the anger in them now was actually startling.

"Revealing?" Artemis echoed scathingly. "You think my uniform is _revealing_?"

"I wouldn't answer that," Robin advised him.

"Shut up, Robin," Artemis ordered, her eyes never straying from Wally. He gulped anxiously. This was not how he had seen this going. "What exactly is so revealing about it, _Wally_?"

Their teammates were all paying rapt attention to them, some looking amused, others looking anxious. "We can talk about it later—," he started to say.

"No, we can talk about it _now_," she interrupted, her steely grey eyes flashing dangerously.

Well, fine. He really didn't want to get into it in front of everyone, but if she insisted. "I mean, your suit, it's just a bit…_lacking_in the midriff area," he said, gesturing to her uncovered stomach.

He thought he could actually hear the grinding of her teeth. He could definitely see her eyes narrow at him, that's for sure.

"Not that it's any of _your_business," she snapped, hands clenching the armrests of her seat, "But I need to have full freedom and mobility of my torso to shoot, and that's why my 'midriff' is bare."

He gaped at her, ignoring the second part of her sentence. "Not any of my business?" he repeated incredulously. "I'm your boyfriend!"

She snorted derisively, leaping up from her chair as the Bioship landed in the Cave's hangar bay.

_Wait, wait wait wait. What did that mean?_"Babe, come on," Wally whined, quickly speeding next to her.

"Don't 'babe' me, Wally West," she said, swinging around to poke him in the chest. Behind her, their teammates shuffled out of the blast zone, shooting him looks over her shoulder. "Just because you're my boyfriend, doesn't give you power over my wardrobe choices," she hissed, whipping him in the face with her long hair as she turned and stalked out of the cockpit.

"Man, you really put your foot in it this time," his so-called best friend commented to his left.

"Shut up, Rob," he growled before hurrying to catch up with Artemis outside.

"Okay, you're right," he told her, keeping pace at her side. "But you didn't see the way that sleazeball Icicle Jr. was checking you out. He was practically undressing you with his eyes!"

"And you thought you would play the hero and protect my poor virtue," Artemis mocked. "Well, newsflash, Wally, I'm not some damsel in distress. I can take care of myself. And I don't need my _boyfriend_telling me what I should or shouldn't be wearing."

She wouldn't even look at him as she continued walking, and that was when he realized how badly he'd messed up. He was thinking about her as his girlfriend, as an object that was his, and not as Artemis, her own person. "Artemis, wait, I—"

She cut him off, stopping suddenly in front of the zeta tubes. He was horrified to see her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Look, I'm tired, Wally. It's been a long day, so I'm going home," she said quietly, cueing her request into the zeta tube transmitter. When she turned to face him, she was wearing his least favorite expression: hurt. "If you know what's good for you, you won't follow me."

He watched helplessly as she disappeared in a flash of light, the robotic voice of the Cave announcing her departure seeming to mock him. Wally hung his head. How the hell was he going to fix this one?

* * *

"Hey, you've reached Artemis. Leave me a message at the beep."

"Artemis…it's me…again. Look, I just, I'm sorry about what I said yesterday. It came out wrong. Can we talk, please? If you get this, or any of my other 10 messages, can you just…call me back?"

He didn't know what else to say that he hadn't already said, so he hit the end button on his cell phone. The distressed speedster slumped back onto his bed, legs hanging over the side, one hand draped across his tired eyes. He'd barely slept the night before, trying to figure out how to patch things up with Artemis. She hadn't answered any of his calls last night or all day, and when he'd pestered the rest of the Team, no one had heard from her.

He knew he'd messed up, and that was putting it lightly. He wasn't the controlling boyfriend type, but when he'd seen Jr. looking at Artemis like she was fresh meat, something inside of him had snapped, and well, he'd never been good at checking what came out of his mouth, and he'd always been a bit of a bumbling idiot around Artemis. Apparently, nothing had changed since they'd started dating.

There was a knock on his bedroom door, and Wally wondered who would dare interrupt his brooding. However, he couldn't simply ignore them, whoever they were, so he grumbled out a pitiful, "Come in."

The door opened and he heard quick footsteps shuffle in his direction. "Your mom said you were up here sulking," his Uncle Barry said, and his usual sunny disposition in spite of Wally's gloomy one made Wally want to hit him. "What's eating you, kid?"

"Artemis and I got into a fight," Wally mumbled, sitting up to see Barry straddling his computer desk chair.

"Ahh, the honeymoon phase is finally over," Barry commented, smiling brightly. Really, couldn't the guy see that Wally was in pain here? "So, what'd you do?"

"Why do you automatically assume it was something _I_did?" Wally asked indignantly.

"Trust me, I know the sign of a guilty conscience," Barry said, an understanding look on his face. "Want to tell me what happened?"

Wally sighed before giving in. If he couldn't tell Uncle Barry what'd he done, who could he tell? "I might have…made a comment about her uniform," Wally told him.

Barry winced. "Kid, if I never teach you anything else, know this," his uncle started. "There are three things you never criticize a woman on, be they superheroes or not: their weight, the way they drive, and their choices in clothing."

"You couldn't have told me all that before I opened my big mouth?" Wally moaned, putting his head in his hands.

"You live, you learn, Wally," Barry said, slapping him on the back good-naturedly. "Now, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know," Wally told him, hands clutching at his hair. "I've tried calling her all day and she won't pick up! I need her to know that I'm sorry for what I said, but how am I supposed to do that if she won't talk to me?"

"Sounds like you've gotta go to her then, kid," Barry reasoned. "You need to apologize to her in person. It doesn't need to be in some big, flashy way, but it does have to be sincere." Barry rose out of his chair and clapped Wally on the shoulder. "You're a smart kid, Wally. I'm sure you'll figure out what to do."

It was good advice. In theory. A few hours later, though, and Wally wasn't so sure he was any closer to getting Artemis to forgive him. He'd tried her cell phone three more times and had even rang her house phone. When her mother had answered, she had told Wally that Artemis was busy doing homework, and he couldn't tell whether Paula Crock was covering for her daughter or she really was doing homework.

What if Artemis wouldn't hear him out? What if she broke up with him before he had the chance to apologize? That was the last thing he wanted. These past couple of months had been some of the greatest of his life. Artemis was everything he'd ever wanted in a girl and more; he'd just been too stupid to realize it in the beginning. He loved just hanging out with her. They didn't have to be doing anything special at all, he just liked being around her. How much of a fool would he be if he let her slip away because he'd opened his big, fat mouth? He had to make sure that didn't happen.

He agreed with Barry. He had to ask for her forgiveness in a way she would know he meant it. Maybe some big production wasn't the way to go, but he wanted to get her attention. A plan was slowly forming in his head. Uncle Barry was right about another thing; if Artemis wouldn't talk to him, he had to go to her. If his plan was going to work, though, he was going to need some help and he knew just who to call. He pulled out his cell phone and hit the first number on his speed dial.

"Hey, it's me," he said into the receiver when the person picked up. "I need your help with something."

* * *

_tbc _


	6. Wally's Big Mouth: Part Two

**Wally's Big Mouth**

**rated:** K+  
**words:** 2,000  
**pairings:** wally west/artemis crock  
**summary:** Wally and Artemis' relationship is still new. When Wally's makes a careless remark about Artemis' uniform, what lengths will he go to in order to get her to forgive him?

**a/n:** Sorry Part Two took so long! I've been in a bit of a writing funk. Thanks for all your reviews on Part One and I hope you enjoy the conclusion! :)

**Wally's Big Mouth: Part Two**

Artemis was having a crappy day; or maybe crappy week was more accurate. It had been two days since their mission fighting Icicle Jr.; two days since she'd last talked to Wally, and she cursed her weakness for him that made her want to pull out her cell phone in the middle of class and call him. _No_. She had to stay strong. What he'd said about her uniform was not only idiotic, but completely out of line and she wouldn't stand for it.

Her cell phone had rang incessantly since the night of the mission, until it had mysteriously stopped last night. She had been expecting Wally to grovel and beg for forgiveness, so she was a bit perturbed when it had seemed that he'd given up. Listening to all the voicemails he'd left her, however, almost made her feel like returning his calls, but something held her back.

It she was being honest with herself, which was sometimes harder than it sounded, her hero costume was a little on the revealing side, she hadn't exactly told Wally the truth about why that was. Yes, keeping her torso bare did give her maximum flexibility to shoot her arrows as she'd said, but that hadn't been the main reason her top part was a little skimpy. When Wally had brought up how revealing he thought her uniform was, she hadn't just been angry; she'd been embarrassed, and that embarrassment had fueled her anger.

But really, the fact of the matter here was that just because Wally was her boyfriend, didn't mean that he got to dictate what she decided to wear. If she wanted to step out in the middle of winter in a string bikini, she expected no complaints from him...Okay, that was a bad example, but the point was that only one person got to call the shots on what she wore, and that was her.

"Miss Crock, are you paying attention?"

Artemis was startled out of her thoughts by the nasally voice of her teacher, Mrs. Goldstein. The older woman was glaring at her from the front of the classroom while her classmates all turned to look at her. She could feel her cheeks flush with embarrassment. This hadn't been the first time she'd been caught daydreaming about Wally in class either.

She sat up straighter in her chair. "Uh, yes, Mrs. Goldstein," she said, trying to look alert.

Mrs. Goldstein smirked at her. "Well, then, perhaps you know the answer to the equation on the board," she said, pointing piece of chalk in her hand to the blackboard.

Artemis carefully studied the equation. "X = 5," Artemis told her after a moment, raising her eyebrows challengingly.

The teacher's eyebrows furrowed and she opened her mouth to say something when the door to their math classroom opened. Artemis and her classmates turned to see who the unlucky son of a gun who had decided to interrupt Goldstein's class was. Over the heads of her classmates, she could just make out gelled back, dark hair, pale skin, and bright blue eyes. It was the same strange freshman kid who'd taken that picture of her on the first day of school back in September.

"Pardon the interruption, Mrs. Goldstein," the boy said, smiling charmingly at the woman.

To the class' extreme surprise, old Goldstein broke out into a simpering smile as well. "Mr. Grayson, you know you're always welcome in this classroom," she gushed, seemingly oblivious to her students now. Was that a blush on her face? "Did you come to talk about Mathletes because that will have to wait until after class I'm afraid, dear."

"No, it wasn't about Mathletes, Mrs. G," the boy said, pouting an apology. "The office sent me to collect Artemis Crock. The principal would like to see her."

All the eyes in the room flew back to her once more, and Artemis felt as if all the air had been sucked out of her lungs. What had she done? She'd never even spoken to the principal before. What if something was wrong? What if it was her mom? She was suddenly frozen in her seat.

Mrs. Goldstein frowned. "Surely the office gave you a note or a hall pass, Richard," she pressed, casting her gaze at Artemis before focusing on the boy once more.

Grayson hit his head with his hand. "Silly me, I stopped at the restroom on the way here and must have left it there," he told her. "Would you like me to go back and get it?"

Mrs. Goldstein waved away his question. "No, no, I trust you, Richard," she said. She surveyed Artemis over the top of her square rimmed glasses. "Well, Miss Crock?"

Artemis swallowed the lump in her throat and gathered her things slowly. Mrs. Goldstein gave her a displeased look when she finally walked up to the front of the room, but Richard Grayson beamed brightly at her. There was something familiar about that grin...

"Thanks, Mrs. G," he said, backpedaling towards the door. "I'll see you later for the Mathletes meeting."

"Yes, Richard, I will see you, then," the woman sighed. "Hurry back, Miss Crock."

Artemis followed the freshman out of the classroom, shutting the door behind them, mind still reeling with worst case scenarios. She didn't even notice at first that Grayson was walking in the complete opposite direction from the principal's office.

"Uh, are we taking the long way around?" Artemis asked, coming alongside the boy.

"Nope, we're not going to the principal's office actually," he replied, not breaking his stride.

Artemis gaped at him. "What? Where are we going then?"

"There's someone else who wants to talk to you," he said cryptically, coming to a halt in front of Gotham Academy's courtyard.

Students were allowed to sit out there during free periods, but as it was winter out, there were only a handful of students milling about. Grayson pointed to a figure standing in front of the courtyard's frozen fountain. The person was wearing the Gotham Academy uniform, but there was no mistaking who it was. Wally's bright red hair was a stark contrast to his drab surroundings. He wasn't looking in her direction, but through the foggy windows, she could see his defeated posture; shoulders slumped, eyes downcast, shoes scuffing against the icy cement.

She pressed closer to the windows, using her hand to wipe some of the frost away from the glass in order to see him better. The movement caught his attention and when he saw her he immediately became alert and scrambled to hold up the sign in his hands that Artemis had only just noticed. I WAS A JERK, the sign read, Wally looking at her earnestly from behind it. Artemis sighed and crossed her arms, not quite convinced. Wally gulped and flipped over the sign. Now it read, in big letters, I'M SORRY.

"Wally," she half whispered, half whined. She shook her head and sighed again, feeling herself already cave in. "So, how'd he put you up to this, Grayson?" She looked next to her, but the freshman boy was nowhere to be found. Weird...

She took a deep breath, and shoved open the doors to the courtyard, strutting over to her boyfriend, who looked like a dog with his tail between his legs.

"Hey, beautiful," Wally said, looking hopeful. Artemis didn't want to, but she couldn't help but think he looked really cute in the academy's uniform, which she'd thought was impossible for anyone to do.

"Wally, what are you doing here?" she asked bluntly, enfolding her arms around herself to ward off the chill in the air. "Don't you have school? And how'd you get an Academy uniform?"

"I took a sick day," he told her, inching closer to her, and even with the distance between them, she could feel warmth radiating from him. He really was like a space heater. "And I had D-that kid get me the uniform and get you out of class. I, uh, gave him $50 bucks."

"Why?"

"You weren't returning any of my calls," Wally said, his expression contrite. "What else was I supposed to do?"

"Maybe give me a little space," Artemis suggested. "Give me time to cool down."

"We're outside, how much cooler did you want to get?" Wally quipped, causing Artemis to throw him a dirty look. He was really digging himself deeper here.

"You know what I mean."

All humor seemed to drain out of Wally, leaving only regret, and he dug his hands deep into his pockets. "Artemis, I'm so sorry about what I said the other day," he whispered, his green eyes full of self-reproach. It was an expression Artemis didn't like to see on him. "I acted like a big, controlling idiot, and it's been tearing me up the last couple of days. You know me, sometimes my brain doesn't check my mouth before I speak. I never meant to hurt your feelings, babe. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do."

Wally being completely sincere and real always managed to catch Artemis off guard, like his words to her on the bioship only a few months prior. At his words now she felt the last visages of anger disappear. "I know, Wally," she sighed, moving closer to him. "I forgive you."

His head jerked up almost comically. "You do?" he asked, eyes bright with disbelief. "You mean, you're not going to break up with me?"

"What?" Artemis looked at him incredulously. The thought had never even crossed her mind. "No, I'm not breaking up with you."

The words were barely out of her mouth before Wally had swept her up in a big hug, pulling her clean off of her feet. The action took her by surprise, but she laughed at his enthusiasm. He set her down on her feet, but kept her encircled in his arms.

"You're amazing," he said breathlessly, grinning down at her happily. "The best girlfriend a lucky stiff like me could ever have."

"And don't you forget it," Artemis quipped, smirking up at him. Her expression fell away after a moment, however. "Wally, about my uniform, though..."

"You'll never hear another word from me about it, beautiful," Wally vowed, "Except for my saying how hot you look in it."

Artemis chuckled weakly, but wouldn't be deterred. "Wally, I lied to you about why my uniform is the way it is," she said softly, looking down at Wally's tie instead of his face. "When I was making my costume, I was doing it behind my dad's back, and when I was making the top part, I ran out of fabric. The material is pretty expensive, and I couldn't afford anymore, so I left it as is."

Wally's hand cupped the back of her head and lifted it up so that her eyes met his. "Babe, that's nothing to be ashamed of," he told her. "You had no control over that, and look what you did with what you had." He grimaced. "I don't deserve you. Are you sure you forgive me? I was planning on getting on my knees and groveling."

Artemis rolled her eyes playfully. "I forgive you, Wally," she said, pulling him closer. "I wouldn't want you to get whoever's uniform this is dirty, anyway."

His face broke out into a smile again, and Artemis couldn't hold herself back anymore. She snaked her arms around his neck and reached up to press her lips against his. His mouth was warm despite the temperature outside and Artemis gladly sank into his heat. Their embrace was broken up by the loud sound of the academy's bell ringing, signifying the end of the period.

Artemis pulled away from Wally and cocked her head to the side. "See you at the Cave after school?" she asked him.

"You bet," he replied, her favorite smile of his spreading across his face.

She gave him one last peck on the lips before turning and striding back into school. He was still gazing after her through the windows, and issued a little wave as she turned down the hallway. Artemis heaved a deep sigh, feeling a thousand times better than she had at the beginning of the day. She and Wally had survived their first fight as a couple, and had come out of it stronger than before. It might have been a romantic thought, but she suddenly felt like they could survive anything.

* * *

**a/n:** Please review! :)


	7. These Memories in Hy Head

**title:** these memories in my head  
**rating:** T  
**words: **1500  
**pairings/characters:** wally/artemis, wally west, dick grayson, artemis crock  
**summary:** It's only been 22 days. _Only_. And yet, there are some days he thinks he might actually be going crazy without her.

**these memories in my head**

_don't want your picture on my cell phone_  
_i want you here with me_  
_don't want those memories in my head, no_  
_i want you here with me_

It's only been 22 days._ Only._ And yet, there are some days he thinks he might actually be going crazy without her. Some mornings when he wants to cry out in frustration when he reaches over to her side of the bed and the only thing his hand encounters is air. Some afternoons when the thought of going to Vietnamese Lit alone makes him want to curl up into the fetal position. And some nights when he turns the TV on to drown out the deafening silence of their apartment.

It's pathetic, really, he's decided, and sometimes he feels like Nelson agrees with him if the pitbull's exasperated expressions are any indication (can pitbulls even looks exasperated? He's definitely going crazy.). It's pathetic, though, how much he misses her. Everything feels out of whack without her. It's like, they've been Wally and Artemis, Artemis and Wally for so long that he's having a hard time functioning as just _Wally_.

Sure, he gets through the days fine, but there are reminders of her wherever he goes. On campus, he passes by their favorite study spot on the main quad, the one where they spend a long stressful afternoon going over their notes for their Atlantean language course freshman year. On his way to class he takes the shortcut past the football field and sees the archery team practicing for their upcoming tournament. He vividly remembers having to break the news to them that Artemis wouldn't be joining them this year.

At lunch, he sits alone in his and Artemis' favorite dining hall: his favorite because of the all you can eat buffet; hers because of the wide variety of Asian-style cuisine. She always said it reminded her of her mom's cooking. After his classes he heads to the rec center. Artemis herself had volunteered to teach a self-defense class every week, and had then volunteered Wally to be her practice dummy.

The worst part of his day is when he has to go home to their little off campus walk up. He remembers how they had scoured Palo Alto for an apartment that would fit their budget and needs and how this one, the very last on a long list of ones they'd seen, had finally struck a chord in them both. He lack-lustfully cooks himself dinner from memory rather than the numerous cookbooks that line the kitchen counter. If he looks in a few of Artemis' favorites, he knows he'll find little sticky notes with recipe alterations written in her neat hand.

He avoids their bedroom. It's the site of so many shared things; intimacy, space, late night talks, early morning cuddling. For the first couple days after Artemis had left, he'd taken to sleeping on the couch until he'd figured her absence was torture enough without him adding to it. At least he has Nelson who, despite sleeping more than Wally thought was healthy for a 2-year-old dog, really was living up to his reputation as man's best friend. Wally has taken to leaving the door to the bedroom open before he goes to sleep, and sure enough, as if sensing his master's loneliness, he usually finds Nelson curled up on the bed by his feet.

It isn't just that he feels lonely, though; he feels…guilty. Guilty that Artemis is out there risking her life while he sits on his ass playing the good, little school boy. His insides burn to be out there in the field, to protect Artemis the only way he knows how, by helping the Team out no matter how useless he feels he is. He knows why he hasn't broken out the "red and yellow" again, though; because as long as he holds off, when Artemis returns (and she will return; there is still so much they both have ahead of them) they can pick up right where they left off. Finish school, graduate with honors, get the jobs of their dreams, get married, have kids; the list is endless.

But, if he choses to pick up the uniform again, they can never go back to the lives they had before. The job and all that comes with it will get it's hooks in them and it was been near impossible to hang up their uniforms again. The first time was hard enough; they would never be able to do it a second time.

He thinks he could have held off is Dick hadn't've called him, and his stomach drops at the sight of Dick's caller ID on his cellphone. They've had almost two weeks of no contact, not since their argument at the Hall of Justice, and Wally knows he wouldn't be calling if it wasn't important. He holds his breath as he thumbs the answer key.

"Dick." It's a question within a greeting, and Wally wonders if his best friend can hear his heart pounding through the receiver.

Dick can obviously hear the tension in his voice. "Artemis is fine, Wally," he immediately reassures him. Wally doesn't even have time to sigh in relief, however, before Dick retracts his words. "Well, I think she's fine."

"You think?" Wally repeats, trying not to jump to conclusions; instead, jumping up and packing around the living room, his free hand clenching a fistful of red hair.

Dick doesn't respond for a long moment, and when he does his voice sounds exhausted. "We've hit a snag…another snag," he amends. He goes on to explain to Wally about M'gann frying Kaldur's brain, only to find out about him and Artemis being undercover. Apparently, earlier in the day, Artemis had "kidnapped" M'gan, resulting in three of the Team's lead operatives being cut off entirely from the surface. Dick literally has no idea what's going on down there and the more he tells Wally, the faster his heart pounds in his chest.

"I'm in way over my head here," Dick finally admits, sounding more like the 18-year-old kid he is than Wally has ever heard before. "Everything's gone so wrong, and it's all my fault."

Although what Dick says isn't far from the truth, Wally hates to hear his friend beat himself up. "Dude…"

"No, Wally," Dick says, his voice growing more confident. "You were right to call me out before. I haven't been the leader I should be. I've lied to my teammates, kept secrets from them, and put them all in unnecessary danger. But that stops now." He remains silent for a moment, and Wally can tell he's gathering up the courage to say something more. "Thing is, I could really use my best pal's help this time around. There's no one I'd rather have watching my back."

Wally closes his eyes, slouching down onto the sofa with one hand still clasping the phone up to his ear. He'd known it would come to this; known that the Team would need him eventually. He recalled what he'd said to Roy only a couple months ago: "Ditching the game doesn't mean ditching my friends" and the words still rang true today. His friends were in trouble and if picking the game back up was what he had to do to help them, he would do it.

"Well, I guess the only question is, where do I report to?" Wally finally asked.

Wally can hear Dick's sigh of relief loud and clear through the phone. "Bludhaven, 0800 tomorrow," he rattles off. "KF, I—" and the gratitude in his voice overwhelms Wally. "We're going to get them back: Artemis— Kaldur, M'gann. And then we're going to end this, once and for all."

Wally says nothing in return, and Dick tells him he'll see him tomorrow. They hang up and Wally takes a deep breath before heading to the closet in the bedroom. Hanging up right where he'd left it after his stint in Central City, is his Kid Flash costume. He can't bring himself to regret this decision, though he knows it will change everything.

Nelson ambles in suddenly, one of Artemis' sneakers clenched between his teeth. He presents the shoe to Wally before sitting on his hunches and emitting a small whining noise. Wally kneels down in front of him, petting the top of his head with one hand and picking up the shoe with the other.

"I'm going to go get her, boy, I promise," Wally says, and if the dog can make exasperated faces at him, surely he can understand this. "I'm going to bring her home."

He has to believe in what Dick said, has to believe that he can and will make a difference. If there's even the slightest chance that he can help end this war with the Light, he has to take it. Too much is at stake for now for him to just sit on the wayside and do nothing. There are too many memories that he and Artemis still have to make, and he'll be damned if he let's anyone try to take that away from them.

* * *

**a/n:** just a little something I had in my head the last couple days. kind of ends on a high note, right? Please review! :)


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